Love by Numbers Trilogy Winner!

by Anna Campbell

Wow, guys, you had a wonderful day with Sarah MacLean last week! And she had a wonderful day with you. She's chosen her winner and the lucky girl who gets all THREE books in the Love by Numbers Trilogy - NINE RULES TO BREAK WHEN ROMANCING A RAKE, TEN WAYS TO BE ADORED WHEN LANDING A LORD and ELEVEN SCANDALS TO START TO WIN A DUKE'S HEART - is...

KIRSTEN!!!

Congratulations, Kirsten. Please email Sarah on sarah.t.maclean @ gmail.com (no spaces) with your snail mail details and she'll get your book off to you. Happy reading!

Eleven Steps to Reading Heaven!

by Anna Campbell

It is my huge pleasure to invite back one of our most popular guests and a brilliant writer too, Sarah MacLean. Make sure you comment today because Sarah has very generously offered one of our buddies the chance to win signed copies of the ENTIRE LOVE BY NUMBERS TRILOGY!

Wow, wonder if hostesses are eligible! If not, can I adopt a false name? A moustache? Get botox?

What? You still recognize me? Sheesh! Being a master criminal isn't as easy as it used to be!

Sarah's latest historical romance from Avon ELEVEN SCANDALS TO START TO WIN A DUKE'S HEART is out on the 26th April (clearly an auspicious day for book releases, snicker!) and is dominating the bestseller lists as we speak. It's also garnering rave reviews, including a Top Pick review from RT Book Reviews, where Kathe Robin said:

The third book in the Love by Numbers series is a fast-paced, funny and tender read. You’ll love watching MacLean’s well-developed characters fall in love and define their relationship and enjoy the cameo appearances of her first two couples in this unforgettable story.

Here's the very cute trailer for ELEVEN SCANDALS:



You can find out more about Sarah and her fabulous romance novels on her website.

So without further ado, here's Sarah!

Thanks so much for having me, Anna! You know how much I like the pina coladas over here at the Bandits. *hic!* No more until the interview is over, though.

Sarah, put down that cabana boy! You can't have your dessert until you eat your vegetables! As you know I loved NINE RULES TO BREAK WHEN ROMANCING A RAKE. But I think I loved TEN WAYS TO BE ADORED WHEN LANDING A LORD even more. I was entranced by the characters in that story. Now ELEVEN SCANDALS TO START TO WIN A DUKE’S HEART has hit the stands (and my bedside table). Can you tell us about this story?

You have no idea how much it means to have *you* say such lovely things about my books...I am such a HUGE Anna Campbell fan...HUGE.

(Anna Campbell preens like a swan! Well, maybe like a goose, but she's a goose who likes to think she's a swan!)

As for Eleven’s story...this is the one that everyone has been waiting for. The heroine, Juliana Fiori, is the scandalous Italian half-sister of the heroes of the first two books, and she’s been slowly coming out of her shell while her brothers have been busy finding love. Readers have also met the hero, Simon, Duke of Leighton, who is the worst kind of cold, immovable, autocratic duke. Just ripe for a dressing down. And I mean that in all possible ways.

When scandal meets propriety, sparks fly...and that’s where Eleven lives.

Ooh, love it. I actually love immovable object, irresistible force romances and this sounds like a fantastic example! What’s next for Sarah MacLean?

My next series, THE FALLEN ANGEL quartet, follows four aristocrats, cast from society by scandal, now partners in London’s most notorious gaming hell--The Fallen Angel. The first book, A ROGUE BY ANY OTHER NAME, tells the story of Michael Lawler, Marquess of Bourne, who will do anything to rebuild his lands and fortune--including marrying a woman who is entirely too innocent for his wicked ways.

Sounds delicious! What made you choose the Regency as your setting? You obviously have a passion for early 19th century Great Britain!

I blame Johanna Lindsey and Judith McNaught. When you’re a kid growing up in Rhode Island, and someone puts WHITNEY, MY LOVE or GENTLE ROGUE in your hands...you never go back. It was only a matter of time before I was reading any Regency-set (the traditional Regencies were too tame for my teenaged self) historical I could get my hands on. By the time Stephanie Laurens and Julia Quinn and Eloisa James and Lisa Kleypas came along, I was already an addict...and they just made it worse.

So, when I finally set pen to paper to write my first book, Regency-set is what came out. And I knew better than to fight it.

You’ve been published now for a little over a year with FOUR books out in that time (“Where’s my hartshorn?” she shrieks in best Regency fashion). It must have been a total whirl. What do you wish you’d known before you published that you know now? Were there any surprises along the way?

LOL! I’m not sure I know anything more now than I did then! But here are three things that I have written on notecards in my office that I find help (or, at least, make me feel better!):

1) Every book is different. (This one helps when I think, “But the beginning of *that* book was so *easy*! I thought I *mastered* beginnings! Why does *this* beginning suck?!?”)

2) The darkest hour is before the dawn. (This one is necessary for the moment you get 300 pages into a manuscript and think, Oh, my God. What was I *thinking*? Usually it takes me a week of noodling and fixing and going back to the beginning before I break through and sprint to the finish.)

3) Someone will love this book. Someone will also hate it. (This one is for those stupid moments when you are a dumb author and look at reviews.)

Can you take us through a typical Sarah MacLean day?

I’m not sure you can handle the excitement of my days, honestly. Brace yourselves.


8:30 - Alarm goes off. Snooze hit.
8:42 - Alarm goes off again. Snooze hit again.
8:44 - Dog stands over head, whining.
8:44:25 - I say, “No. Go away,” in firmest, most masterful voice possible (there has to be some cosmic problem with the fact that my first words most mornings are “No. Go away,” but let’s leave that for another time).
8:44:27 - Dog starts whining again.
8:45 - Husband’s alarm goes off. I give up on sleep.
10:00 - Teeth brushed, dog fed, tea poured, email checked, Facebook checked, Twitter checked. Husband gone, dog walked. Time to write.
11:00 - Spent additional hour on Facebook, reading Anna Campbell’s midnight posts and pretending to do important “authory” stuff. Really, though. Time to write. Receive new email. Sale at The Gap!
12:00 - Have bought new clothes, despite the fact that I spend all day in yoga pants and a tank top. *Now* must write. Turn off Internet (I have no willpower, whatsoever) for three hours. Write.
12:30 - Make more tea. Write.
1:00 - Time for lunch break. Telephone call with a) my best friend, b) my sister, c) my mother or d) all of the above.
1:30 - Write. Possibly, something worth reading.
2:30 - Dog begins whining. Time for a break, anyway. What can you really do in 30 minutes?
3:00 - Have done God knows what, but lost 30 minutes doing it. Back to computer. Time to write. Oh! Look! Internet is back. I’ll just check email for two quick minutes. Ooh! Sale at Nine West!
4:30 - Have checked every website known to man, bought shoes and twitpic’d dog doing something adorable, like sleeping on a stuffed hedgehog. Oy. Back to work. Internet off for another three hours. Write.
5:30 - Have I showered today? Shower.
6:30 - Consider the possibility that husband might want dinner. Sort takeaway menus. Return to desk. Write.
7:45 - Husband comes home. I realize that I was actually working and did not notice a) the Internet returning, b) the sun setting, or c) the fact that the house is now in a state of complete blackness. This means I actually got work done! Huzzah!
8:00 - Husband asks how day was. I tell the truth. I worked very very hard. And was extremely productive.
8:30 - Takeaway arrives. We watch an episode of The West Wing, which by now we could do without a television since we know all the words anyway.
9:30 - I return to office to write. Ooh! Anna Campbell is awake in Australia!
10:00 - Anna is a wicked, evil distraction, sent to ruin my writing career. Internet off. Write.
12:00 - To Bedfordshire.
Rinse. Repeat.

Bwahahahaha! My evil plan is working... Hold on, if you don't write, I don't get any new books from you. Goose Campbell returns to barn to ponder a NEW plan! Perhaps I should email Sarah and ask her how she thinks I should proceed - oh, that's right, she's buying shoes at Nine West and isn't on the Internet (snork! Or perhaps as I'm now a goose, honk?).

Sarah, do you have anything you want to ask the Bandits? And no, requesting a recipe for roast goose is not appropriate!

I just confessed that Johanna Lindsey and Judith McNaught were my gateway drugs to romance. Those Malorys! Those Westmorelands! I mean, seriously? How’s a girl to resist? So...time for you to fess up! Who were the authors (or what were the books) that got you hooked on romance? One commenter will win signed copies of the entire LOVE BY NUMBERS trilogy!

Sarah MacLean's Bandita Booty!

Wow, did we have a fabulous day in the lair yesterday. Thanks to everyone who swung by to comment and join in all the LAMB-asting (just one more sheep joke and then I'll stop, I promise!). Sarah MacLean was a fantastic guest and I look forward to hosting her again next year.

Very generously, Sarah offered TWO prizes of two books each. Our lucky commenters each receive a signed copy of THE SEASON and their choice of a signed copy of either NINE RULES TO BREAK WHEN ROMANCING A RAKE or TEN WAY TO BE ADORED WHEN LANDING A LORD.

And the winners are (drumroll!)...

CAROL L!

KSQUARED!

Congratulations, girls. Please email Sarah on sarah @ macleanspace.com (no spaces) with your snail mail details and also telling her which book you'd like to win and she'll get your prizes off to you!

Ten Ways to Discover Sarah MacLean!

by Anna Campbell

This year, one of the big events in romancelandia was the adult romance debut of Sarah MacLean. Her first book for Avon, NINE RULES TO BREAK WHEN ROMANCING A RAKE, was everybody's favorite when it hit the shelves.

I read it when I was in New York last July and was wowed by Sarah's ability to combine deep emotion with sparkling comedy. And when I was lucky enough to meet Sarah at RWA Nationals in Orlando, I realized she was just the uproarious...ahem, DIGNIFIED kind of guest who would appreciate the elegant appointments here in the lair and I invited her here to sip tea with our pinkies extended!

Well, that's my story and I'm sticking to it until I've had my second margarita!

I'm really excited - Sarah's second book TEN WAYS TO BE ADORED WHEN LANDING A LORD (seriously, I think Sarah would give Lainey a run when it comes to the poetry stakes!) is out this month and I can't wait to read it. Here's the blurb:


Since being named “London’s Lord to Land” by a popular ladies’ magazine, Nicholas St. John has been relentlessly pursued by every matrimony-minded female in the ton. So when an opportunity to escape fashionable society presents itself, he eagerly jumps—only to land in the path of the most determined, damnably delicious woman he’s ever met!

The daughter of a titled wastrel, Lady Isabel Townsend has too many secrets and too little money. Though she is used to taking care of herself quite handily, her father’s recent passing has left Isabel at sea and in need of outside help to protect her young brother’s birthright. The sinfully handsome, eminently eligible Lord Nicholas could be the very salvation she seeks.

But the lady must be wary and not do anything reckless and foolish…like falling madly, passionately in love.

You can find out more about Sarah and read excerpts from her wonderful books on her website: http://macleanspace.com/romance.html

Sarah, a big warm welcome to the Bandit lair. Here, have a cabana boy! Oops, I meant have a margarita!

Mmmm. I love cabana boys . . . I mean “margaritas.” I should have known that you Banditas had code words for everything! What a warm welcome—I’m so so so excited to be here!

I loved your debut NINE RULES TO BREAK WHEN ROMANCING A RAKE so I’m desperate to read your latest TEN WAYS TO BE ADORED WHEN LANDING A LORD. Can you tell us about this new story?

Thank you, Anna! You know that I’m a total fangirl of yours, so it makes me all jittery when you say nice things about NINE RULES!


(Anna blushes in a becomingly Regency fashion)

TEN WAYS is the story of Lord Nicholas St. John (twin brother to the hero of Nine) who is totally blindsided when a London ladies’ magazine names him one of London’s Lords to Land.

He does what any good, red-blooded male would do in the situation. He flees. To Yorkshire, where, unfortunately, he lands himself in a household entirely populated by females. The mistress of the house, Lady Isabel Townsend, has too many secrets and too little money . . . and so begins our tale.

NINE RULES was phenomenally successful, hitting both the New York Times and the USA Today lists and receiving wide critical acclaim. Do you have any theories why your first adult romance struck such a chord with readers?

I’m still pinching myself over the incredible response to NINE RULES . . . it was completely unexpected.

I actually have two theories for why NINE RULES struck such a chord: First, I think there’s something about Callie (the heroine of NINE) that we can all connect with. After a lifetime of being too plain, too plump, too meek and biddable, she says, “Hang it all. I refuse to live like this any longer.” Who hasn’t wanted to do that (and score a hot marquess in the process!)?

She takes the leap that so many of us never have the courage to take—I sure don’t!

Theory number two? Pure. Dumb. Luck.

Nah, I don't think luck had much to do with it. You wrote two really great characters in Callie and Ralston! You also write young adult romance with a Regency setting. Is the Sarah MacLean who wrote THE SEASON different from the Sarah MacLean who wrote NINE RULES? Are you planning more young adult stories? Are there things you can do in young adult that you can’t do in your adult romantic fiction? Snicker, we know some of the things you can do in the adult stuff you can’t do in the YA!


This question is making me nervous. I’m wondering if maybe The YA Sarah MacLean and the romance Sarah MacLean should be different—I’d like to say that YA Sarah MacLean hangs out with the cast of Glee and texts Taylor Lautner all the time . . . but it’s just not true. She’s the same as romance Sarah MacLean, who is a bit of a cheeseball and addicted to Twitter and cupcakes and watches way too much reality TV and can recite whole scenes from The West Wing and is secretly in love with Anthony Bourdain in a borderline stalkerish kind of way (it all started with him naked, holding a well-placed leg of lamb. What can I say? I’m a sucker for a man with meat. *a-hem*

Note to self: *Try* to behave. This is a classy joint. They have cabana boys.

Anna's note to Sarah: Boy, have we got you hoodwinked!

Anna's second note to self: Now I'm pedalling Lamb Porn! Oy, what has become of me?

Anywho . . . There are definitely things that are OK in YA and not in Romance or vice versa – obviously there’s the biggie . . . a 16-page naughty bit is not going to fly in YA . . . but there’s also a keen awareness of readership. Teens are more willing to take risks as readers—they’re not locked into one or two genres as we are as older readers—which is why there is such an incredible variety of stories in the YA section of the bookstore. Off the top of my head . . . first person narratives, novels in verse and unhappy endings are things that teens are much more open to than adults.

I love YA, and writing for teens, so you’ll definitely see more books from me there.

What's coming up next?

In April of 2011, I close out the St. John siblings trilogy with the story of Nick and Ralston’s half-sister, Juliana, in ELEVEN SCANDALS TO START TO WIN A DUKE’S HEART. . . and then no more long, numbered, rhyming titles (which just might be the hardest part of writing these books)! Juliana’s smart mouth gets her into trouble with a very arrogant, very disdainful duke, and we get to watch as the sparks fly. It was very fun to write!

In Autumn 2011, I start a new series with Avon . . . my Fallen Angels series. It’s still historical, still set in the same world as NINE, TEN and ELEVEN. . . but a new batch of characters who I am very very excited to share with the world. I’d say more, but my editor has sworn me to secrecy!

Can you tell us about your writing journey?

I’ve wanted to write romance for as long as I can remember. Aside from a short time when I wanted to be a film director, this is really my dream job.

It did take me a half-a-dozen false starts and a kick in the pants from a great friend to finally set pen to paper and write my first full book, THE SEASON . . . and then, it was only a matter of days before I started working on NINE RULES . . . Callie popped into my head and that was that.

I have been incredibly lucky on the romance side of things . . . I’ve dreamed of publishing with Avon forever, and when my agent called me with the offer for NINE, TEN and ELEVEN on November 21 2008, it was the best day of my life.

Seriously. I giggled all day. Like a little kid. I still pinch myself when I show up to events and people like you and Eloisa James and Julia Quinn and Sophie Jordan and Susan Elizabeth Phillips actually speak to me.

Which brings me back to my overarching theme: Pure. Dumb. Luck.

Wow, Sarah, you sold your first completed manuscript? That's fantastic! Congratulations! Do you have any advice for unpublished writers?

When you read a book that comes from passion for the story and pleasure in the experience, it’s so obvious! Forget about what everyone is saying about market trends and who buys what and who reads what and what sells and what doesn’t and what readers want. Write the book you want to read.

Sarah, can you give us a question to start the conversation ball rolling?

So, I confessed some of my secret (not anymore!) weaknesses above . . . The West Wing and cupcakes and reality TV and Twitter and Anthony Bourdain . . . what are your secret weaknesses? The things that suck up your time and that you’re kind of afraid to admit to liking so very much?

Hey, guys, get commenting. Sarah has very generously offered TWO prizes today - each winner gets their choice of a signed copy of either NINE RULES or TEN WAYS and a signed copy of THE SEASON. Good luck!